On Sunday in the Bali final, 2nd seed Elena Dementieva of Russia won the 2nd WTA singles title of her career by defeating top-seeded Chanda Rubin of the US with surprising ease, 6-2, 6-1 (the photo shows that Elena got the big pizza pan after the match).

Elena said: "It was one of my best matches of the year. I’m definitely a late starter usually and start to play from the end of the second set, but today from the first ball to the end I was very aggressive. I really like the way I played today." (story).

Chanda said: "Today she was on and didn’t make a whole lot of unforced errors, and she was really going for her shots, hitting winners. I started off a little bit slow and tried to give myself a chance to get into the match, but I needed another gear that I didn’t have today."

Chanda and Elena are now tied 2-2 in career meetings. Both ladies are by now probably in Shanghai, China, where they are the top 2 seeds in the Polo Open, with a fair chance of meeting again in the final.
27-year-old Chanda has now won 7 WTA singles titles (2 of them earlier this year) in 17 finals. Almost-22-year-old Elena has won 2 WTA singles finals in 6 finals appearances.
Chanda and Elena may be playing each other again in the Fed Cup Final in November, but the US will have to get past a couple of Belgians you may have heard about in order to get that far.

Jelena said: "I had chances to win the match, even if I lost in two [sets]. I had big leads and I let them go. I beat myself more than she beat me. It’s just
up and down, on and off in the match. That’s the problem." story

#32 s5 Tamarine Tanasugarn THA d #48 Nicole Pratt AUS 6-0, 6-0

Tammy said: "I knew Nicole is very tough and never gives up so I focused 200 percent. It’s
not easy to keep this level all the time, and my goal is to keep it as high as
possible and concentrate on one match at a time." story

Angie said: "In the past I have often been up in the match, but then I lost. This time I thought I had lost, but I won. I’m happy with the result today. She was playing well, but I was playing well also. I focused well in the third set. That’s what makes me happy. I thought okay, nothing to lose so relax. From 3-3 to 3-5 [in the 3rd set] I was too defensive and worried about if the ball would be out. But at 3-5 I decided to just play the best I could, win or lose." story

Maria said: "I was playing a great player, a Grand Slam champion, and she has so much experience. When I played her last time I had to run so much I couldn’t walk the next day. I was prepared for that, and mentally I was very strong out there. My strategy was to cut down on the errors and move her around and to be as patient as possible.
"Definitely playing doubles has helped with my singles as well. I started playing with Angie [Widjaja] in February, and we just clicked right away. It’s very hard to find someone you can have the right chemistry with, and it’s very important to have that and to get along with your partner. So far we enjoy being together and it’s helped both of our singles." story

Conchita said: "I do prefer playing in the sunshine [there were 2 rain delays]. This weather makes you feel a little heavy, but it’s the same for both. I just didn’t play my best. Maybe it was because of yesterday [Conchita suffered from stomach illness on Wednesday]. I was making a lot of unforced errors and playing short, and I didn’t feel I had my legs there."

Elena said: "It was pretty close, especially at the beginning, and Tammy played very well today. It was not so easy to play because it was very humid. I was trying to be aggressive but she was applying a lot of pressure at the beginning, but in the second set I played better. I can’t say it was my best game today, but I was fighting for every point and played good enough to win." (story).

#10 s1 Chanda Rubin USA d #59 Anca Barna GER 6-2, 6-2

Chanda said: "It was good. Overall I played pretty well the first set and a half, but then I slipped a little bit and made it a little tougher. But I was aggressive, which is what I wanted, and I was able to pull it back. It was important coming in here to get a run and some momentum going into the end of the year. It’s still important for me to play well these last few tournaments, and this is a good place to do it."

Elena said: "It was a good fight. I was in trouble at the beginning, but then realized [Maria] likes it when I try to hit very hard. She uses my power, so I started to play a little bit slower and try to move her. That was the key to the match. Then it was easier to play in the second set, after I was down 4-1 but won 6-4. It didn’t matter if I hit hard. I was more confident and I finally found the way to win." (story).

#10 s1 Chanda Rubin USA d #68 Saori Obata JPN 6-4, 6-3

Chanda said: "It was a good match for me to have to play, but I wasn’t as solid as I want to be at some key times. I’ll have to play better in the next match. I could have run off with the second set a little bit easier, but she’s tough and gets a lot of balls back. [Saori] takes the ball early and uses pace well, and sometimes that gave me problems."